“I’ve never seen a question come before the (Lee County Metropolitan Planning Organization) with studies from DOT that wasn’t vetted cleanly and clearly from citizens. This isn’t an end point. This is a starting point,” said McIntosh, who serves on the planning board.

“We need to at least have some professional advice. ... That doesn’t mean we need to take that advice.”

Meg Jacobson was one of a half-dozen residents who opposed the possibility of a flyover.

“Think of what the city would look like with a flyover. Think about our merchants who are already dealing with Estero and north Collier. Who’s going to come down under and around?” she said. “If you can’t do the study without the flyover, don’t do the study. It’s just going to be hideous.”

Resident Fred Forbes agreed. “It’s better to stop it now,” he said.

Donna Stone added: “What is the burning need for a flyover? During season we have to wait one more set of light changes. What is so important that we cannot wait four minutes, and we have to spend million of dollars on?”

Average daily traffic is 42,500 vehicles on U.S. 41 north of Bonita Beach Road according to state 2012 counts.

The count was 49,000 for U.S. 41 north of Bonita Beach Road in 2008 according to Lee County, about a 13 percent decrease.

Carmen Monroy, the Florida Department of Transportation’s Southwest area director, said the public, City Council and MPO would have weighed in on the alternatives, including a no-build option. “It is very unlikely that the department would support any option that the city does not endorse, that the MPO does not endorse,” she said.

Martin still did not feel comfortable. “The other members of the MPO aren’t Bonita folk,” she said. “They’re going to be looking at this as what’s best for them, not necessarily what’s best for us.”

Connect with this reporter on Twitter @ChristinaCepero.

In other action

The Bonita Springs City Council voted 7-0 to:

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Approve taking out a loan from Bank of America not to exceed $13 million for downtown improvements including sidewalks, on-street parking, centralized drainage and land acquisition for government purposes. The interest rate is locked in at 2.96 percent per year. Payments will begin Feb. 1, 2015, until Feb. 1, 2029.

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Approve paying the Southwest Florida Regional Planning Council $50,000 for a plan to restore Spring Creek to improve water quality as well as navigation. The 10-square-mile watershed originates at Estero Bay, about 6,000 feet south of Coconut Road.

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Direct Public Works staff to spend $100,000 to eradicate cattail marsh plants and add landscaping at the Florida Department of Transportation’s water treatment pond on Arroyal Road.